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    Is it possible to see sound? Yes, but it takes some crafty photographic wizardry

    The concept of ‘seeing sound’ might seem preposterous, but when you consider that sound is just compressed air travelling in waves, the idea becomes a bit more logical. The real trick is capturing air flow in a way that makes it perceptible to the human eye. Through some clever tricks, scientists are able to do just that using a technique called Schlieren flow visualisation, which is used to study everything from heat and sound to aerodynamics and the spread of disease.

    Producer: Adam Cole

    Video by NPR’s Skunk Bear

    10 March 2016
    A grand piano stands alone on a rocky, Mars-like desert landscape under an orange sky.

    videoPhysics

    How would a piano sound on Mars? Embark on an interplanetary sonic journey

    20 minutes

    A person in a red jumpsuit playing the trumpet, causing flames along a metal tube to create visible sound waves.

    videoPhysics

    A song of ice, fire and jelly – exploring the physics and history of the trumpet

    9 minutes

    Abstract black-and-white image featuring a spherical shape at the centre surrounded by an intricate web of swirling, crisscrossing lines, creating a three-dimensional effect. The background is dark, enhancing the contrast and emphasising the white lines and central sphere.

    videoPhysics

    Imagining spacetime as a visible grid is an extraordinary journey into the unseen

    12 minutes

    Abstract depiction of two galaxies, one on the left with spiral arms and bright centre, and one on the right with swirling patterns and luminous core.

    videoPhysics

    There’s a striking link between quantum and astronomic scales. What could it mean?

    5 minutes

    A dark sky with numerous stars and a bright, luminous object emitting light in the centre.

    videoAstronomy

    Celebrating the rough, the raw and the human in hardcore space science

    3 minutes

    Close-up of a jumping spider with hairy legs and multiple eyes, sitting on a leaf with a blurred yellow-green background.

    videoBiology

    To understand the limits of human senses, look to the wild world of animal cognition

    45 minutes

    A person wearing glasses and headphones, drinking from a mug with the number 1 on it. They wear a brown jumper.

    videoCognition and intelligence

    Can you season seafood with ocean sounds? One of the many ways senses interact

    5 minutes

    Film still of a man in a brown jacket holding a newspaper at a newsstand in a city with a blue car passing by in the background.

    videoFilm and visual culture

    From shifting perspectives to shaping scenes, how sound design can carry a film

    9 minutes

    A colourful soap bubble floating in the middle of a white-painted hallway with a wooden door at the end.

    videoArt

    Floating from room to room, a soap bubble mysteriously avoids its fate at every turn

    10 minutes